Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has been thrust into the spotlight, with calls from some in the Democratic Party for the 70-year-old justice to retire before President Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Politico reported Friday that an unnamed Democratic senator confirmed there has been talk among his colleagues about a potential retirement and replacement for Justice Sotomayor. She is the oldest of the three Democratic-appointed justices.
“She can sort of resign conditionally on someone being appointed to replace her,” the Democratic senator told Politico’s Playbook. “But she can’t resign conditioned on a specific person. What happens if she resigns and the nominee to replace her isn’t confirmed and the next president [Mr. Trump] fills the vacancy?”
CNN legal analyst Bakari Sellers, who served in the South Carolina legislature as a Democrat, said President Biden could nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the election to Mr. Trump earlier this week.
“I think that’s actually a very good plan. I think it’s something that should happen,” Mr. Sellers said on the network.
Democrats control the White House and the Senate until early January, when a new Congress takes over, which puts the timeline for a potential retirement and replacement in a tight window.
Justice Sotomayor was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. She’s been on the court for 15 years. She is the most senior Democratic appointee on the high court, with Justice Elena Kagan nominated the year after her by Mr. Obama, and then later Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson nominated in 2022 by Mr. Biden.
Justice Sotomayor has served less than half the time on the high court that Justice Clarence Thomas, who is 76 years old. He was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and is the longest-serving justice.
Democrats are sour on the decision of the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg not to retire during a Democratic administration. She died in 2020, enabling Mr. Trump to appoint a justice — conservative Amy Coney Barrett — to a seat held by Justice Ginsburg for nearly three decades.
Some Democrats want to avoid a repeat of that result.
Quick confirmations to the high court are not unprecedented.
In 2020, Justice Barrett was confirmed within 30 days. Mr. Trump nominated her on Sept. 26 and the Senate confirmed her by Oct. 26.
Senate Democrats would have about two months to confirm a new justice during a lame-duck session before the new GOP majority takes over in the upper chamber.
A spokesperson from the Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.